Iraq thanks group in U.S. for aid, OKs more such flights

Iraq Wednesday thanked a private U.S. relief organization for bringing a shipment of medical supplies, and an official of the group said Baghdad had agreed to more flights.

A cargo plane from the aid organization AmeriCares landed in Baghdad Tuesday with 38 metric tons of medical supplies to be distributed at 22 centers throughout Iraq, the first airlift of humanitarian aid from a U.S. relief group since the 1991 Persian Gulf War.A vice chairman of the AmeriCares delegation, Guy Smith, told a news conference in Baghdad that Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz had approved further aid flights at a meeting with the group Wednesday.

"We explained the purpose of our mission," Smith said. "He was most gracious. We explained we would be pleased to return with additional shipments."